How Kavanaugh Meets Schumer’s Standard for Sotomayor

In 2009, current Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor that “your record on the bench” was “the best way to get a sense of what your record will be on the bench in the future.”

That common sense principle was right then, and it remains right today as the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares for its hearing on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. That hearing is set to begin on Sept. 4.

Kavanaugh has been on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit more than 500 days longer than Sotomayor had served on the 2nd Circuit before her elevation to the high court.

He has authored or joined nearly 700 opinions that span 8,500 pages. The challenge isn’t finding enough material about Kavanaugh; it’s sifting through it all to find what’s most important.

Kavanaugh himself can actually help in this task.

Question 13 in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s questionnaire asks the nominee to identify the “10 most significant opinions you have written.” That’s a good place to start.

The goal in examining these opinions should be to determine, as Schumer has said, what kind of justice Kavanaugh will be.

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